Linux Auditd Auditd Daemon Abort
The following analytic detects the abnormal termination of the Linux audit daemon (auditd) by identifying DAEMON_ABORT events in audit logs. These terminations suggest a serious failure of the auditing subsystem,…
Description
The following analytic detects the abnormal termination of the Linux audit daemon (auditd) by identifying DAEMON_ABORT events in audit logs. These terminations suggest a serious failure of the auditing subsystem, potentially due to resource exhaustion, corruption, or malicious interference. Unlike a clean shutdown, DAEMON_ABORT implies that audit logging may have been disabled without system administrator intent. Alerts should be generated on detection and correlated with DAEMON_START, DAEMON_END, and system logs to determine root cause. If no DAEMON_START follows soon after, or this pattern repeats, it indicates a high-severity issue that impacts log integrity and should be immediately investigated.
Detection logic
Detection requirements
- Platform
- Linux
The rule states no platform. This is derived from the ATT&CK technique it maps to.
- Log source category
- linux_auditd_daemon_abort
Known benign triggers
- Administrator or network operator can use this application for automation purposes. Please update the filter macros to remove false positives.
MITRE ATT&CK mappings
0 exclusive techniques.This is coverage no other published rule has; it is not this rule's total technique count.
References
| Reference | Cited by |
|---|---|
| docs.redhat.com/en/documentation/red_hat_enterprise_linux/6/html/security_guide/sec-audit_record_types | 3 |
From the source
- At source
- Open at source
- Upstream identifier
- 76d6573f-c4ab-4fa1-8390-c036416d4add
- Tagged by the source as
- Compromised Linux HostEndpointendpointSplunk CloudSplunk EnterpriseSplunk Enterprise Securityendpoint
Licence
- Published under
- Apache License 2.0Read the licence
- Attribution
- Required
- Obtained under
- Apache-2.0Read the origin licence
Authorship
- Written by
- Published
- Aug 26, 2026
- Version
- 1